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Group Members: Will Johnson
A prolific, eclectic alt-country band based in Denton, Texas, Centro-Matic began in 1995 as a side project for singer/songwriter and guitarist Will Johnson. Though Centro-Matic released a few singles that year, it wasn't until 1997 that the project began to resemble a full-fledged group. After recording the 23-song debut album Redo the Stacks at his friend Matt Pence's home studio, Johnson enlisted Pence as the band's drummer, along with cellist/violinist Scott Danbom and bassist Mark Hedman. The fully formed Centro-Matic recorded over 60 songs in a Milstadt, Illinois studio space owned by Son Volt's Jay Farrar; of those, some of the quieter, more emotional songs ended up on the 1999 Idol Records album Navigational, while some louder, lo-fi tracks were collected with B-sides and other unreleased material on the same year's Quality Park release The Static vs. the Strings, Vol. 1.
With still more songs in reserve, Centro-Matic obtained no-strings-attached deals with both labels, allowing them to release as many albums as they wanted beginning with 2000's All the Falsest Hearts Can Try. For his next trick, Johnson built a side project inside his existing side project, the dour South San Gabriel Songs/Music. But before anyone could dwell on that, Centro-Matic released Distance and Clime through the Idol label in 2001, and Johnson spent the rest of the year putting the finishing touches on his first solo album, 2002's Murder of Tides. Love You Just the Same followed in 2003; by this point, tracking Johnson's restless songwriting heart was as fascinating as hearing his consistently strong output.
More amazingly, Centro-Matic toured like crazy men this entire time, crisscrossing the country (and Europe) with acts as disparate as Jay Bennett, Brendan Benson, Slobberbone, and the Promise Ring. Sweet remainders of the Love You Just the Same sessions surfaced in 2004 as the Flashes and Cables EP, and Johnson released the solo album Vultures Await later that year. Another solo release, Survey/Voyage, appeared one year later. Centro-Matic was busy in 2006; not only did the band release the Triggers and Trash Heaps EP and full-length Fort Recovery, but the year also marked Centro-Matic's tenth anniversary. Things slowed down after that year, however, with Centro-Matic issuing a two-disc set (2008's Dual Hawks, whose second disc consisted of South San Gabriel's material) before Johnson took some time off to play drums with Monsters of Folk. Returning to Centro-Matic in 2010, Johnson and company began revising and recording the songs they'd written before the short hiatus, resulting in 2011's Candidate Waltz.
from Wikipedia:
Centro-Matic is an alternative country band based in Denton, Texas. It started in 1995 as a side-project for Will Johnson. It released a few singles that year and grew into a full-fledged group in 1997. The initial 60 songs recorded in a Millstadt, Illinois studio supplied the material for the quieter, more emotional Navigational on Idol Records and the louder, lo-fi The Static vs. the Strings, Vol. 1 on Quality Park Records.
Throughout his career, Johnson has had a reputation for being prolific and dynamic. So much so, that he built an entirely separate band, the much quieter side-project, South San Gabriel, named after the San Gabriel river fork north of Austin, Texas. The group consists of the same players from Centro-matic with the inclusion of guests, but focuses on more introspective and subdued offerings from Johnson's repertoire. Will has alternated between the two projects, while also releasing solo albums. Centro-matic released Distance and Clime on Idol in 2001 and "Love You Just the Same" on Misra in 2003. South San Gabriel released Welcome, Convalescense and The Carlton Chronicles in 2003 and 2005, respectively. Johnson's solo albums, Murder of Tides and Vultures Await, appeared in 2002 and 2004. Centro-matic followed up Love You Just the Same with Fort Recovery in March 2006. The two-disc set Dual Hawks was released in 2008, with one disc featuring the songs of Centro-matic and the other featuring South San Gabriel.
Johnson was recently introduced as an "official member" of the band Monsters of Folk, also consisting of Conor Oberst, Jim James, and M. Ward, on an episode of Austin City Limits the group performed on. On the taping, and on tour, Johnson serves as the band's drummer, provides backup vocals, as well as performing some material of his own.
Johnson was also a member of the group The Undertow Orchestra featuring David Bazan, Mark Eitzel, and the late Vic Chesnutt.
Johnson and Scott Danbom have performed as part of Drive-by Truckers frontman Patterson Hood's band, during his solo tours.
Centro-Matic has been managed by Bob Andrews of Undertow Music since 1997.
